brother's birthday

back in may my brother turned 20. he really likes italian food, so we decided to go where we normally go: arancinos. a lot of people tell me this place is inconsistent. but when your mom is friends with most of the staff and the owner, they tend to kick the service up a notch. we eat here really often. family gatherings, birthdays, when my mom's friends are in town, when they introduce a new item to the menu. we're irregular regulars, so to speak.

bread. mom usually eats this with balsamic vinegar + olive oil. i just it eat it plain, because it's already baked with seasonings.

blurry photo of my penne arrabita. it's a sort of spicy tomato based sauce with penne pasta. super delicious.

my mom always gets the same thing. tobiko and calamari spaghetti and a glass of merlot.

my brother, craigin, and his lasagna. also what he always gets. the portion is enormous.

mom, again.

blurry photo of the bar.

i suppose i don't know what real italian food is supposed to taste like, as i've never been to italy or been served by real authentic italian chefs. but in terms of flavor/portion/price, arancino's is always satisfying to me. i really like the duck pizza they have. it's duck, looking a lot similar to bacon but thicker cut, atop a thin hand made crust. topped with mozzarella cheese. and normally as a starter we get the bagna cauda. it an assortment of vegetables (celery, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, beans, etc) with an anchovy olive oil garlic dipping sauce.

if you haven't been here i'd absolutely recommend it. it can get a bit pricey (peroni beer is like $6 a bottle here) but the portions are big enough to satisfy me. i usually leave with left overs. they have two locations: one in the marriot hotel and the other on beachwalk.